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Request Tracker

We use a system called Request Tracker (or "RT") to keep track of Computing Support requests.

When a request is submitted via the Computing Support Form, a new "ticket" is created in RT and the Frontline Support Staff are notified. The ticket is given a number which is included in the subject line of all emails sent via RT to the requestor. A confirmation email is sent to the requestor from RT and any emails sent to the address are added to the ticket. This allows the computing staff to see all correspondence relating to a support request in one place.

A member of the computing staff will take "ownership" of the ticket, which means that all correspondence sent to the ticket will also be sent to this staff member. It might be assigned to a different "queue" other than 'support', which means it's been passed to a different team for resolution. When the ownership of a ticket changes or when a ticket is moved to a different queue, the requestor is informed via email.

The support team will prioritise all tickets as they are submitted and we aim to respond to all requests within 24 working hours although in practice we would normally respond much sooner than this. This does not, of course, mean that the ticket will necessarily be resolved in this timescale although we do try to resolve all tickets as quickly as possible.

When collaborating on a solution to a problem, not all the computing staff's emails are sent to the requestor. It is however possible for the requestor to view the ticket in it's entirety by visiting https://rt4.inf.ed.ac.uk.

Note that we keep tickets indefinitely even after the requestor has left the University. The tickets hold only very limited personal data - usually name and email address - and by keeping them, we can build up a knowledge base to help us resolve future tickets.